Brian Friel Biography (1929-)

Born Bernard Patrick Friel, January 9, 1929, in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland; son of Patrick (a teacher) and Christina (maiden name, MacLoone) Friel; married Anne Morrison, December 27, 1955 (one source says 1954); children: Paddy (daughter), Mary, Judy, Sally, David. Addresses: Office: Drumaweir House, Greencastle, Donegal, Ireland.; Agent: International Creative Management, 40 West 57th St., New York, NY 10019; Curtis Brown, 162-168 RegentSt., London W1R 5TB, England; The Tantleff Office, 275 7th Ave., Room 26, New York, NY 10001-6708.

Nationality: Irish
Gender: Male
Occupation: Playwright
Birth Details: January 9, 1929; Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland

Famous Works

WRITINGS
Plays
The Francophile, produced at Group Theatre, Belfast, Northern Ireland, c. 1959, then produced as The Doubtful Paradise, Belfast, 1960
The Enemy Within (three-act), produced at Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Ireland, 1962, published by Proscenium, 1975
The Blind Mice, produced at Eblana Theatre, Dublin, 1963
Philadelphia, Here I Come!, produced at Dublin Theatre Festival, Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, 1964, then Helen Hayes Theatre, New York City, 1966, later toured U.S. cities, 1966-67, published by Faber, 1965, Farrar, Straus, 1966
The Loves of Cass McGuire, produced at Helen Hayes Theatre, 1966,published by Farrar, Straus, 1967
Lovers (two one-acts, "Winners" and "Losers"), produced at Gate Theatre, Dublin, 1967, then Vivian Beaumont Theatre and later Music Box Theatre, both New York City, 1968, published by Farrar, Straus, 1968
Crystal and Fox, produced at Gaiety Theatre, 1968, then Mark TaperForum, Los Angeles, c. 1970, later McAlpin Rooftop Theatre, New York City, c. 1973
The Mundy Scheme, produced at Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 1969, thenRoyale Theatre, New York City, 1969
Crystal and Fox [and] The Mundy Scheme, published by Farrar, Straus, 1970
The Gentle Island (two-act), produced at Olympia Theatre, 1971, then Lyric Theatre, Belfast, 1972, published by Davis-Poynter, 1973
The Freedom of the City (two-act), produced at Abbey Theatre, 1972, then Goodman Theatre Center, Chicago, 1973-74, later Alvin Theatre, New York City, 1974, published by Samuel French, 1974
Volunteers, produced at Abbey Theatre, 1975, published by Faber, 1979
Living Quarters, produced at Abbey Theatre, 1977, published by Faber, 1978
The Faith Healer, produced at Longacre Theatre, New York City, 1979, then Royal Court Theatre, London, 1992, published by Faber, 1980
Aristocrats (three-act), produced in Dublin, 1979, published by Gallery Press, 1980
Translations, produced in Derry, Northern Ireland, 1980, then Manhattan Theatre Club, New York City, 1981, published by Faber, 1981
American Welcome, produced in New York City, 1980, published in The Best Short Plays of 1981, Chilton, 1981

(Translator) Anton Chekhov's "Three Sisters," produced in Derry, 1981, published by Gallery Books, 1981
The Communication Cord, produced in Derry, 1982, then at ACT/A Contemporary Theatre, Seattle, WA, 1984-85, published by Faber, 1983
Selected Plays of Brian Friel, published by Faber, 1984, CatholicUniversity Press, 1986
(Adapter) Fathers and Sons (based on a novel by Ivan Turgenev), produced at National Theatre, London, 1987, then Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven,CT, 1988
Making History, produced at Field Day Theatre Company, Derry, thenin London, 1988
Dancing at Lughnasa, produced at Abbey Theatre, then at Plymouth Theatre, London, then Plymouth Theatre, New York City, 1991
The London Vertigo (based on the play The True Born Irishman; or, The Irish Fine Lady by Charles Macklin), Gallery Press, 1990
(Adapter) A Month in the Country: After Turgenev, produced at GateTheatre, published by Gallery Press, 1992
Wonderful Tennessee, produced at Plymouth Theatre, New York City,published by Gallery Press, both 1993
Molly Sweeney, produced at Gate Theatre, later Almeida Theatre, London, then Laura Pels/Roundabout Theatre, New York City, published by GalleryPress, 1994, Penguin Press, 1995
(Adapter) Uncle Vanya, 1998
Give Me Your Answer, Do!, produced at Abbey Theatre, 1997, then atGramercy Theatre, New York City, 1999-2000, published by Gallery Press, 1997
Screenplays
Philadelphia, Here I Come!, c. 1970
Radio Plays
A Sort of Freedom, produced by BBC-Radio, 1958
To This Hard House, produced by BBC-Radio, 1958
The Founder Members, 1964
The Loves of Cass McGuire, 1966
Fiction
A Saucer of Larks (stories), Doubleday, 1962
The Gold in the Sea (stories), Doubleday, 1966
A Saucer of Larks: Stories of Ireland (selection), 1969
Selected Stories, Gallery Books, 1979
The Diviner: Brian Friel's Best Short Stories, Devin, 1983
Also contributed stories to periodicals, including New Yorker.
Other
(Editor) Charles McGlinchey, The Last of the Name, Blackstaff Press, 1986

Further Reference

Adaptations

The Loves of Cass McGuire 1995. was adapted for television and produced in Dublin; Dancing at Lughnasa was adapted for film and releasedby Sony Pictures Classics in 1998.

OTHER SOURCES

Books

Andrews, Elmer, The Art of Brian Friel: Neither Reality nor Dreams, St. Martin's Press,
Contemporary Authors New Revisions Series, 1991. Volume 33, Gale,
Contemporary Dramatists, 1999. 6th ed., St. James Press,
Contemporary Literary Criticism, 1976, Volume 42, 1987, Volume 59,1990. Gale, Volume 5,
Dantanus, Ulf, Brian Friel: The Growth of an Irish Dramatist, 1987. Faber,
Dictionary of Literary Biography, 1982. Volume 13: British Dramatists since World War II, Gale,
Duncan, Dawn, John Countryman, and Susan C. Harris, editors, Studies in the Plays of Brian Friel, 1994. Nova University,
Encyclopedia of World Biography, 1998. 2nd edition, Gale,
International Dictionary of Theatre, 1993. Volume 2: Playwrights, St. James Press,
Maxwell, D. E. S., Brian Friel, 1973. Bucknell University Press,
O'Brien, George, Brian Friel, 1990. Twayne,
Peacock, Alan J., The Achievement of Brian Friel, 1992. Barnes & Noble Books,
Pine, Richard, Brian Friel and Ireland's Drama, 1980. Routledge,

Periodicals

Contemporary Review, April, 1995, p. 199.
Europe, 1999, p. 38. July-August,
Midwest Quarterly, SPRING, 2000, p. 264.
New York Times, April 30, 1989, p. 7.
Twentieth Century Literature, FALL, 2000, p. 285.
World Literature Today, SUMMER, 1999, p. 445.

User Contributions:

Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic:

forum